When in use, traditional string mops can quickly become contaminated, thus necessitating frequent mop head cleaning in a bleach or other strong disinfectant. This is especially true with commercial applications, such as hospitals, where the useful cycle life of a clean mop head is dictated by regulations, which aim to reduce that amount of contamination that can be spread from hospital room to hospital room. Moreover, hospital regulations also require that the cleaning solution used for the string mop be changed in regular intervals, again to reduce the possibility of spreading bacteria or viruses among rooms and patients. This changing of the mop head and mop cleaning solution is a labor intensive process, thereby increasing the labor demands of an institution and raising costs. Moreover, these processes waste significant amounts of water and toxic chemicals and lead to environmental concerns due to the amount of toxic chemicals that are placed into public and private sewage systems, which may ultimately find their way into lakes, streams, reservoirs, etc.
Flat mops are an improvement over string mops, in that a solution containing the required cleaning agent(s) can be stored in a container having a multitude of clean flat mops. These flat mops are typically rolled into a cylindrical shape and placed side by side in the container. When a new flat mop is required a user can grab a clean flat mop from the container and replace the existing mop. Under this approach, a dirty flat mop never has to come into contact with clean solution. However, even with this method, the user still needs to physically grab a flat mop out of the solution and place it on the floor, which can increase the possibility that dirt, viruses or bacteria on the user's hands (or gloves) can infect the clean solution, as well as the remaining flat mops in the solution. Moreover, it is inconvenient for a user to have to reach into a container having cleaning solution and remove a flat mop, which requires the user to subsequently wash and dry his or her hands. If a user does not wear gloves when reaching into the cleaning solution, adverse skin reactions can occur, which could lead to missed work, disabilities, worker's compensation claims against an employer and the need for an employer to hire temporary workers. Thus, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for changing flat mops to obviate the aforementioned disadvantages. Other needs will become apparent upon a further reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.